Team Zamzam – providing aid against the odds

24 February 2025

On 21 February, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) temporarily overtook the border town of Tina in North Darfur State before the joint forces allied to the army managed to retake the town. Over 2,000 conflict-displaced people fled the violence in the Tina area of Sudan and crossed the border into Tiné, Chad, according to local activists and the medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF). The UN now estimates the wider Tiné area hosts roughly 10,000 Sudanese refugees. 

It is in Tiné, where a remarkable local charity that provides food and psycho-social support to the displaced carries out their work. The team is originally from Zamzam Camp, formerly one of the largest internally displaced camps situated near El Fasher, North Darfur State. However, the RSF raid on the camp in April of last year forced the team to evacuate the area. Displaced and penniless, few thought this humanitarian initiative would survive. Miraculously, the members of Team Zamzam managed to regroup in Tiné, Chad, and revive their charitable work. 

Hear their remarkable story from the Team Zamzam staff and their founder, long-time Sudan researcher and human rights advocate, Professor Eric Reeves.